The rapid spread of COVID-19 caused a significant impact on many sectors, including the energy demand in building due to the quarantine. This paper overviews the impact of the restriction's measures caused by the spread of COVID 19 on energy consumption in a residential building for three building constructions under six climatic conditions referring to the representative zones of the recent Moroccan climatic zoning. The three-building constructions are Reference House without any passive energy efficiency, Insulation House equipped with thermal insulation in external wall and roof and PCM House equipped with PCM (Phase Change Materials). The three houses are simulated by means of dynamic simulation using TRNSYS software. The quarantine in which the occupants have to stay all-time at home is compared to an ordinary occupancy scenario in terms of energy demand to reach the desired thermal comfort. The major finding of this work is that quarantine can significantly impact the cooling loads than the heating demand depending on building constructions and climatic conditions. The rising-rate in annual energy needs is the range of 10 %–35 %. The impact of the number of occupants is also investigated in respect to the two occupancy scenarios, the three-building constructions and under the six climatic conditions. The results show that when increasing the number of the inhabitants from 2 to 4, under the quarantine period, the energy demand of the PCM house is increased to 50 % depending on the climatic zones. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9340464

Impact of COVID-19 restrictions on building energy consumption using Phase Change Materials (PCM) and insulation: A case study in six climatic zones of Morocco

Plant fiber-reinforced polymer composites: a review on modification, fabrication, properties, and applications

The building sector has a significant potential for improving thermal performance and reducing ecological footprint. An effective design of the building envelope and structure, along with appropriate choice of materials and construction systems, can contribute to decreased energy consumption. In this study, we focus on the development of an innovative composite material called ‘SLNT-PCM’, which combines a phase change material (PCM) with a textile-based material, with the aim of achieving thermal comfort in buildings. To evaluate the thermal behavior of the ‘SLNT-PCM’ composites, numerical simulations were conducted. The results, including temperature contours in different configurations, confirmed the beneficial effect of integrating PCM in the wall structure for stabilizing the internal temperature of the wall. This study contributes to the understanding of the potential of ‘SLNT-PCM’ composites for enhancing thermal performance in buildings and reducing energy consumption. The results showed that the integration of PCM in the wall structure led to a considerable gradient of 6°C between the inside and outside temperature, with the interior temperature stabilized at a comfortable zone of 26°C. This significant improvement in thermal performance is attributed to the efficient combination of natural and ecological insulation with microcapsules of PCM in the composite material. 

Smart Wall Incorporating a New Composite Based on Sisal Fiber and Phase Change Material

The building sector has a significant potential for improving thermal performance and reducing ecological footprint. An effective design of the building envelope and structure, along with appropriate choice of materials and construction systems, can contribute to decreased energy consumption. In this study, we focus on the development of an innovative composite material called ‘SLNT-PCM’, which combines a phase change material (PCM) with a textile-based material, with the aim of achieving thermal comfort in buildings. To evaluate the thermal behavior of the ‘SLNT-PCM’ composites, numerical simulations were conducted. The results, including temperature contours in different configurations, confirmed the beneficial effect of integrating PCM in the wall structure for stabilizing the internal temperature of the wall. This study contributes to the understanding of the potential of ‘SLNT-PCM’ composites for enhancing thermal performance in buildings and reducing energy consumption. The results showed that the integration of PCM in the wall structure led to a considerable gradient of 6°C between the inside and outside temperature, with the interior temperature stabilized at a comfortable zone of 26°C. This significant improvement in thermal performance is attributed to the efficient combination of natural and ecological insulation with microcapsules of PCM in the composite material.

The objective is to evaluate the potential of the thermal insulation application of sisal fibre in the form of a nonwoven material. The thermo -physical and microstructural characteristics of sisal...

M. El Wazna

Papers

Sisal-fibre based thermal insulation for use in buildings